As soon as I wrote my article about what Grade B meant for Hull FC, Huddersfield Giants and Salford Red Devils and it was published by my friend Nathan, I received a clarification by email, from a 110% reliable source, who absolutely understood what I had written, but felt the need to put me right, for which I am very grateful.

The email from this super reliable source explained that the current IMG gradings are to sort out which teams play in which league for 2025 only, Hull FC, Huddersfield Giants and Salford Red Devils will be playing in the Betfred Super League, by virtue of their high B grading, it does not necessarily mean that they can be relegated to the Championship in 2026.

Now that grading is finished for the 2025 season, the 12 teams in Super League next season are known, however the grading system for the 2026 season has now begun, by which time any of the three teams named above could progress, depending on their performance across the five pillars, up to Grade A, or indeed could stay at Grade B or even drop to Grade C.

The same has also to be said for all Grade A clubs, they could conceivably slip down to Grade B, it all depends on their performances on and off the field for the next 12 months.

It still seems very unfair to me, and it certainly opens up the possibility of a very wide-ranging debate, especially when you consider the farce of the Championship Grand Final, at which Wakefield Trinity could not celebrate promotion until a few days later when they received their official grading.

But there it is, we still have a 12-team Super League, which will include the much-hated loop fixtures and around this time next year, we will return to the same farce as we have just seen, to determine who may or may not be promoted or relegated.

I’m not going to say that a few brown envelopes will be changing hands, but as a serious rugby league journalist I can definitely see just how ripe this system could easily become in subsequent years and I can only hope for a return to sanity, with a simple one-up one-down system, based on each team’s performances and subsequent league position, however I believe I’m fighting a losing battle on that front, in the name of supposed progress.

Whatever our beliefs about how the game is now being restructured, yet again, we do have to say that there have been some benefits, such as the breakthrough by many young Hull FC players this season, which simply wouldn’t have been possible without the club’s Grade A rating for the 2024 seasonand I’m sure the likes of Wakefield Trinity and Castleford Tigers, with their new rookie coach will also be feeling pretty good about Grade A at the moment.

But, of course, for every up-side, there has naturally also got to be a down-side, many of which I believe have already been demonstrated in this current grading process.

Written by Ian Judson (site contributor & Hull FC fan)